Display panel

ABSTRACT

A FREE-STANDING, COLLAPSIBLE DISPLAY STRUCTURE, COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF PANEL UNITS, EACH OF WHICH INCLUDES A PANEL BOARD ELEMENT CARRIED IN A PERIPHERAL SUPPORTING FRAME COMPOSED OF LENGTHS OF EXTRUSIONS FORMED WITH A LONGITUDINAL CHANNEL FOR CARRYING END PORTIONS OF THE PANEL UNITS AND FOR SLIDABLY RECEIVING SUPPORTING LEGS. FLANGES EXTENDING FROM THE SUPPORTING FRAME FORM A GROOVE FOR RETAINING DISPLAY MATERIALS ON THE SURFACES OF THE PANEL BOARD ELEMENTS. THE SEVERAL PANEL UNITS ARE HINGED TOGETHER IN AN ACCORDION-LIKE FASHION, PERMITTING THE STRUCTURE TO BE COLLAPSED SO THAT THE SEVERAL UNITS ARE IN SURFACE-TO-SURFACE RELATION BUT PERMITTING THE STRUCTURE TO BE EXTENDED INTO A FREE-STANDING CONFIGURATION IN WHICH THE UNITS ARE AT AN APPROPRIATE ANGULAR RELATION TO EACH OTHER. HINGE FASTENERS ARE RECEIVED IN LONGITUDINAL CAVITIES FORMED IN THE FRAME MEMBERS.

W- J. HARRI$ Sept. 28, 1971 DI SPLAY PANEL INVIiN'IOR. WILLIAM J. HARRIS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 8, 1969 his ATTORNEYS HARRIS ISPLAY PANEL 4 FIG. 3

7 a L I== his ATTORNEYS 3,608,221 DISPLAY PANEL William J. Harris, Alpine, NJ., assignor to Museum Planning, Inc., New York, N.Y. Filed Dec. 8, 1969, Ser. No. 882,977 Int. Cl. G09f 7/00 US. Cl. 40-125H 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A free-standing, collapsible display structure, comprises a plurality of panel units, each of which includes a panel board element carried in a peripheral supporting frame composed of lengths of extrusions formed with a longitudinal channel for carrying end portions of the panel units and for slidably receiving supporting legs. Flanges extending from the supporting frame form a groove for retaining display materials on the surfaces of the panel board elements. The several panel units are hinged together in an accordion-like fashion, permitting the structure to be collapsed so that the several units are in surface-to-surface relation but permitting the structure to be extended into a free-standing configuration in which the units are at an appropriate angular relation to each other. Hinge fasteners are received in longitudinal cavities formed in the frame members.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a free-standing collapsible display structure suitable for mounting photographs, paintings, sheets of printed material and the like for display purposes, and more particularly, to a display structure which is esthetically appealing, is of relatively light weight, is constructed so as to be collapsible to a relatively small size, and is highly durable.

There are many instances in which it is desired to mount various forms of visual material, such as photographs, drawings, paintings, sheets of printed material and the like in a more or less permanent display which is to be transported from place to place. For example, many manufacturers maintain sales and promotional displays which they take around for showing to groups of potential customers, perhaps setting up the display at a trade show. This same kind of activity is carried out by various groups concerned with education and with the visual arts, such as art museums, which prepare and distribute traveling displays for schools, libraries, and other places where interested observers may visit to view the dis play.

Many types of display structures have been proposed and used for the above and similar purposes. Common to most of these types of displays is a display board or panel which carries the visual material and which is adapted to be positioned vertically, such as by simply hanging it on a wall or, in some instances, by mounting it on an appropriate free-standing frame. In several known types of display structures complex hardware consisting of lugs, brackets and other interlocking attachments is required for securing the panels to the frame members. Other displays, although structurally simple, utilize unsightly fastening lugs and brackets for attaching the panels. Some of the more complicated types of displays also have the disadvantage of being of relatively large size and weight, so that they are cumbersome to handle, pack, and transport, and they also require a considerable amount of time and effort to assemble and disassemble them. In many instances, the display is composed of a number of separable parts, and one or more parts can become lost in transport. The parts must often be packed in special, large shipping containers for pro- --United States Patent 3,608,221 Patented Sept. 28, 1971 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION There is provided, in accordance with the invention, a novel and improved display structure which is constructed with a minimum number of component parts and in a manner such that it can be readily set up for display and taken down for removal to another location. The display structure is of relatively small, compact size when collapsed, of light weight to facilitate handling and transport, and is of the type that is freestanding and therefore requires no installation of auxiliary components, such as wall hangers or the like, at the place where it is to be set up to permit its use.

More particularly, the display structure comprises a plurality of panel units, each of which includes a substantially rigid, light-weight panel board carried in a peripheral supporting frame. The side frame members of the several panel units are parallel to each other, and the units are hinged together at the side frames to form an accordion-like assemblage. Consequently, the panel units can be collapsed into face-to-face relation for transport, but can be extended out into any desired angular relationship with each other in a three-dimensional, mutually-supporting configuration. The several interconnected panel units are supported in a vertical, elevated position at the desired height for comfortable viewing by means of legs on each unit.

The peripheral frame members are lengths of continuous extrusions, each having a continuous longitudinal channel that receives an edge portion of the panel board element and also provides for snugly receiving the upper end of a supporting leg, in the case of the side members. The frame members also include a lengthwise internal cavity for receiving pop rivets or other hinge fasteners and L-shaped flanges that extend outwardly from both faces and define peripheral slots for retaining display materials on both surfaces of the panel board elements. The frame members can be joined to the panel by an appropriate adhesive applied at the interface between the inwardly facing surfaces of the frame channels and the panel board facings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be made; to the following description of an exemplary embodiment, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a pictorial view showing a portion of a complete display structure set up for use;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of one of the panel units employed in the structure shown in FIG. 1, the view being on a larger scale than FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an end view in section of portions of adjacent panel units showing them collapsed for storage of transport, the View being taken generally along a broken plane represented by the lines 33- in FIG. 2 and in the direction of the arrows and being on a relatively larger scale than FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an end view in section of portions of adjacent panel units showing them collapsed for storage or transport, the view being taken generally along a plane represented by the line 44 in FIG. 2 and in the direction of the arrows and being on a relatively larger scale than FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a front view in section of the lower left corner of a panel unit (as it is shown in FIG. 2), the section being taken generally along the center plane and the portion shown being located generally within the circle captioned 5 drawn on FIG. 2.

3 DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT Referring first to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the display structure, as exemplified in the embodiment illustrated, comprises a series of any desired number of identical individual display panel units, which are designated generally by the reference numeral 10. Each of the panel units includes a panel board member 12 carried in a peripheral frame 14 and supported at an elevated position above the floor by a generally U-shaped leg member 16. The several panel units 10* are hinged together in an accordion-like fashion and, as they are in the configuration illustrated in FIG. 1, can be spread out into angular relationships forming a three-dimensional, self-supporting structure or can be collapsed to bring the panels 12 into face-to-face relation (see FIGS. 3 and 4) providing a compact package for easy packing, handling, and transport.

The panel member 12 of each panel unit 10 may be of any suitable, preferably light-weight, substantially rigid sheet material. Sandwich panels, such as those embodying spaced-apart facing sheets of aluminum, a suitable plastic or some other durable sheet material and a honeycomb core or filler structure of aluminum, plastic, foam, paper or the like, are especially suitable because of their lightweight and rigidity.

The panels 12 are of generally rectilinear shape and may be of any suitable dimensions; variations in the geometric shape of the panels may also be adopted, but at least portions of the side edges of the panel units should be substantially parallel to each other in order to permit interconnecting the units for self-support in the manner described above and depicted in FIG. 1.

The peripheral frame elements 14, although they may take various forms, are desirably made up of pieces cut from continuous extrusions and are thus identical to each other, providing the advantage of a limited number of different parts that need be fabricated for the structure. The frame elements may be extrusions of any of a number of materials, such as a relatively high density polystyrene or some other suitable plastic, as well as metals, notably aluminum.

As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the frame members, viewed in section, are composed of an end wall portion 14a, a pair of spaced-apart parallel flanges 14b extending inwardly and generally perpendicularly from the end wall 14a, and an inner wall 14c parallel to and at a spaced distance from the end wall 14a. The inner wall 14c is positioned to form with the end wall 14a and the flanges 14b a continuous longitudinal cavity 14d within the frame member. In addition, the inner wall 140 forms with the flanges 1411 a continuous longitudinal channel Me which receives and embraces edge portions of the panel member 12 and, in the case of the side frame members, the upper ends of the legs 16, as described below. Flanges 14 of generally L-shaped in cross-section extend outwardly from both sides of the end wall portion 14a to provide slots for retaining display materials on both surfaces of the panel board elements 12, the slots on the frame of the panel units when assembled extending continuously around the perimeter of the frame.

The frame members 14 are cut to appropriate lengths, preferably in a manner providing mitre joints at each of the corners where the frame members meet (see FIG. 2.), and the bottom and side frames are joined to the panel, and preferably to each other, by a suitable adhesive. The top frame member of each panel unit is not fastened to the assembly so that it is removable to facilitate installation and removal of display materials installed in the peripheral retaining slots. The adhesive joining the frame members to the panel board members is applied along the interfaces between the overlapping portions of the panel board elements and the inwardly facing surfaces of the channel flanges 14b.

The legs 16 for the several units are preferably formed of rod or pipe stock, which is preferably of aluminum or other light-weight, strong material, bent into a 'U-shape with vertical portions 16a and a transverse portion 16b. The vertical leg portions 16a are telescopically received in the channel portions '14e in the two side members of each frame unit 10, the bottom part of the side edge portions of the panel boards 12 being notched to provide sockets 18 in the channels Me for the vertical leg portions 16a. A sleeve 20 is inserted in each socket to provide a snug leg fit. To permit the ends of the vertical portions 16a to be received in the side frame members, holes 22 and 24 are drilled through each end of the lower edge frame member, as shown in FIG. 5, the holes constituting extensions of the sockets 18 of the side frame members. The upper ends of the legs 16 are of reduced diameter and have a tapered portion which provides a supporting surface on which the peripheral frame 14 rests. The hole 22 is drilled with a smaller diameter than that of the hole 24 to correspond with the smaller diameter of the upper end of the vertical leg portion 16a. The vertical leg portions 16a of each panel unit are removable from the sockets 18 for ready disassembly and compact packaging.

The several panel units 10 are assembled into a structure which, in the collapsed condition, comprises a series of face-to-face pairs of units, the pairs being placed backto-back, thus creating an accordion-like assemblage of the units 10 in which they are in stacked, surface-to-surface relation. In such collapsed condition, the end wall portions 14a of adjacent frame members are coplanar. Hinges 26 join the units together and are preferably continous piano-type hinges made of, for example aluminum and having substantially uniform thickness and a Width generally coextensive with the total width of the frame members being joined. The hinges 26 are appropriately fastened, such as by pop rivets 28 or other suitable fasteners installed through the hinge 26 and the wall portion 14a and projecting into the cavity 14d.

Display material such as posters, drawings and the like can be placed in either surface of the panel board 12. by removing the top member of the peripheral frame 14, inserting side edges of the display material into the slots formed by the L-shaped flanges 14] of the side frame members, and sliding the display material down wardly until it rests in the slot formed by the flange 14 of the bottom frame member. The top frame member is then positioned on the panel board, and the top edge of the display material is received in the top frame flange 14;. The displayed object is thereby securely retained along all four edges of the panel board. Material can be removed from the display panel by simply lifting away the top frame member and sliding the material upwardly until it is free of the side frame slots. The display structure of the invention thus enables quick and secure posting and easy removal of visual materials and without need for folding or bending them.

The above described embodiment of the invention is intended to be merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art will be able to make numerous variations and modifications of it without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A free-standing collapsible display structure comprising a multiplicity of side-by-side substantially rectilinear panel units, each panel unit including a substantially rigid panel board and a supporting peripheral frame extending around the perimeter of and carrying the panel board element, the peripheral frame being composed of lengths of a continuous extrusion, the extrusion including an end wall, a pair of spaced-apart flanges extending generally perpendicularly from the end wall, an inner wall parallel to and spaced from the end wall and extending between the inner faces of the flanges, the inner wall, end wall and portions of the flanges defining a continuous closed longitudinal cavity within the extrusion, and the inner wall and portions of the flanges defining an openended continuous longitudinal channel receiving an edge portion of the panel board element, and L-shaped flanges extending outwardly from the end wall of the extrusion to form on the frame a substantially continuous peripheral slot on each side of the panel for receiving edge portions of display materials to mount them on both surfaces of the panel units; hinge means joining the side frame members of adjacent panel units to each other to form a continuous assemblage in which the units are adapted to be positioned vertically in angular relationships with each other in a three-dimensional mutually supporting configuration, the hinge means affording collapse of the several units to bring the panel members into collapsed abutting face-to-face relation to afford convenient storage and transport of the display structure; and supporting legs for each panel unit received in the longitudinal channel of the side margin frame extrusions.

2. A display structure according to claim 1, further comprising a sleeve member inserted in the longitudinal channel of the side margin frame extrusion to receive a supporting leg.

3. A display structure according to claim 2 wherein the legs for each unit are in the form of a one-piece U- shaped member having integral, spaced vertical portions and a transverse portion joining the vertical portions, and wherein the free ends of the vertical portions of the legs are removably received in the sleeve members.

4. A display structure according to claim 1 and further comprising fasteners joining the hinge means to the frame members, portions of the fasteners being received within the inner longitudinal cavity of the extrusion.

5. A display structure according to claim 1 wherein the end wall portions of adjacent frame members are coplanar when the display structure is in collapsed condition.

6. A display on each side of the panel structure according to claim 1 wherein the bottom and side frame members are adhesively joined to the panel board element at the interfaces between the overlapping portions of the panel element facings and the inwardly facing surfaces of the channel flanges and wherein the top frame member is removable to facilitate posting and removal of display material.

7. A free-standing collapsible display structure comprising a multiplicity of side-by-side substantially rectilinear panel units, each panel unit including a substantially rigid panel board and a supporting peripheral frame extending around the perimeter of and carrying the panel board element, the peripheral frame being composed of lengths of a continuous extrusion, the extrusion including 6 an end wall, a pair of spaced-apart flanges extending generally perpendicularly from the end Wall, an inner wall parallel to and spaced from the end wall and extending between the inner faces of the flanges, the inner wall, end wall and portions of the flanges defining a continuous closed longitudinal cavity within the extrusion, and the inner wall and portions of the flanges defining an open-ended continuous longitudinal channel receiving an edge portion of the panel board element, and L-shaped flanges extending outwardly from the end wall of the extrusion to form on the frame a substantially continuous peripheral slot on each side of the panel for receiving edge portions of display materials to mount them on both surfaces of the panel units; hinge means joining the side frame members of adjacent panel units to each other to form a continuous assemblage in which the units are adapted to be positioned vertically in angular relationships with each other in a three-dimensional mutually supporting configuration, the hinge means affording collapse of the several units to bring the panel members into collapsed abutting face-to-face relation to afford convenient storage and transport of the display structure; fasteners joining the hinge means to the frame members, portions of the fasteners being received within the inner longitudinal cavity of the extrusion; a sleeve member inserted in the longitudinal channel of the side margin frame extrusions to slidably receive a supporting leg; and supporting legs for each panel unit in the form of a one-piece U-shaped member having integral, spaced and tapered vertical portions and a transverse portion joining the vertical portions and wherein the free ends of the vertical portions of the legs are removably received in the sleeve members.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 900,590 10/1908 Raymond a -351X 2,941,324 6/1960 WaXgiser 40l56 2,979,842 4/1961 De Ridder 40-156 3,372,689 3/1968 Goudy 160206X 3,466,777 9/ 1969 Wistrand et a1 40-125 (F) FOREIGN PATENTS 776,374 1/1968 Canada 40125H ROBERT W. MICHELL, Primary Examiner R. CARTER, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

